In response to Dr Rupa Huq’s debate on the availability of abiraterone for prostate cancer treatment, the Minister acknowledged the importance of ensuring equitable access to effective treatments such as abiraterone. She noted that while NICE has approved abiraterone for use in metastatic cases, there is ongoing work to consider its use for non-metastatic cases. The Minister committed to exploring ways to ensure additional NHS funding can be used effectively to make the drug available to all men who need it across England and Northern Ireland. She also emphasised the importance of considering the cost-benefit analysis and ensuring transparency in decision-making processes. Furthermore, she highlighted the Government's commitment to addressing health inequalities, particularly for black men, through targeted interventions and policy measures. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) for securing the debate, and I thank the other Members who have spoken. As my hon. Friend has said, more than 50,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and one in eight will be diagnosed with it during their lifetime. Timely and equitable diagnosis and access to innovative medicines for the treatment of prostate cancer are of the utmost importance. To support faster diagnosis, NHS England has redesigned pathways to maximise capacity. We are also aware of very early-stage trials of the use of artificial intelligence in prostate cancer detection, and we look forward to a formal report on those trials, so that the evidence can be considered carefully. Members know that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body responsible for assessing whether new licensed medicines can be recommended for routine use in England, based on a thorough assessment of their clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, ensuring consistency of access for NHS patients wherever they live in England. Through the cancer drugs funds, NHS patients also benefit from access to cancer medicines from the point of positive draft NICE guidance, accelerating access to clinically and cost effective medicines by up to five months. Through this process, many thousands of patients, including patients with prostate cancer, have been able to benefit from effective new treatments at prices that represent value to the NHS. The drug that is the subject of this debate, abiraterone, is licensed and recommended by NICE for use in the treatment of certain types of metastatic prostate cancer, and it is now routinely available to NHS patients in England in line with the NICE recommendation. NHS England has recently put in place an interim commissioning policy that makes abiraterone available for men with high-risk, hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer, pending the outcome of NICE’s update of its negative guidance. I am pleased that this approach was agreed between NICE and NHS England late last year to ensure uninterrupted access to abiraterone for men leaving the STAMPEDE trial. My hon. Friend raised particular concerns about access to this drug for men with non-metastatic prostate cancer. First, it is important to note that abiraterone is not licensed by the MHRA for use in this indication, and it is therefore off-label. NICE does not evaluate the off-label uses of medicines, and the drug is also now off-patent and available generically, which means there is no single manufacturer that could sponsor an MHRA licence application or NICE evaluation. It is therefore for NHS organisations to take decisions on funding based on the available evidence. Approximately 7,000 men per year could be eligible for this drug, and it is estimated that it would cost an additional £20 million per year to fund that. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to identify the necessary current funding to support the commissioning of abiraterone for this purpose or any other treatments in this prioritisation round. I know that is disappointing for those affected, and I want to acknowledge that this is a really difficult and unusual situation. However, I want to assure my hon. Friend and other hon. Members that the funding position for this treatment does not mean that there are no treatment options. The NICE guideline on prostate cancer recommends the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer with surgery and radiotherapy. NHS England is keeping this position under review, and would reconsider funding for abiraterone for non-metastatic prostate cancer if the funding position changes. Earlier this month, NHS England met Prostate Cancer UK, which shared its financial model of the expected cost impacts. NHS England is reviewing this in more detail, and I encourage it to continue those discussions. In closing, I recognise how hard it is when patients want access to effective treatments. I also recognise the distress and worry it causes not only for patients, but for their families and friends. The Government are committed to ensuring that we provide access to the most innovative and effective medicines, but it has to be in a way that is sustainable and affordable for the NHS.